§ 16-32-104 - Jury wheel or box.
16-32-104. Jury wheel or box.
(a) (1) The names and last known addresses of the persons selected shall be placed, in the presence of the circuit judge and the circuit clerk, in a circular hollow wheel or a large box constructed of sturdy and durable material. In place of names and addresses, the court may cause cards or discs, numbered serially, to reflect the number of prospective jurors required to be placed in the box and shall cause the names on the master list to be numbered serially so that a juror on the list may be identified when his number is drawn for entry in the jury book.
(2) (A) The wheel or box shall thereafter remain locked at all times, except when in use as provided in this subchapter, by the use of two (2) separate locks so arranged that the key to one will not open the other lock. The clasps into which the locks shall be fitted shall be so arranged that the wheel or box cannot be opened unless both locks are unlocked.
(B) The key to one (1) lock shall be kept by the circuit judge, and the key to the other shall be kept by the circuit clerk.
(C) The circuit clerk of each county shall keep the wheel or box, when not in use, in a safe and secure place.
(3) Whenever the circuit judge finds that there is sufficient reason to believe that the integrity of the contents of the wheel or box may have been compromised, he or she shall cause the names in the wheel or box to be compared with the names on the master list, and the verified names shall then be placed in the wheel or box in open court.
(4) Any person other than one acting in open court as authorized by this act who shall open a jury wheel or box with intent to remove, alter, or add to its contents shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and upon conviction shall be imprisoned in the penitentiary not less than one (1) year nor more than twenty-one (21) years.
(b) The courts are authorized to use a computer program that is capable of random selection of names from the list of registered voters or the enhanced list of prospective jurors authorized under 16-32-302 instead of maintaining the jury wheel or box required under subdivisions (a)(1)-(4) of this section.